Students at the prestigious UK university vote against motion calling for a boycott of Israeli institutions, goods and produce.

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LONDON – A controversial motion calling for a boycott of Israeli institutions,
goods and produce at Oxford University was unequivocally defeated by students on
Wednesday.

Students at the prestigious university voted against the
motion, as reported by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, at Oxford University
Students’ Union (OUSU), with 69 votes against, 10 for and 15
abstentions.

The vote failed by a margin of seven to one.

Oxford
University’s collegiate system is made up of 38 colleges and six private halls
founded by various Christian denominations. Each college has a “junior common
room” that votes at the OUSU. The number of votes each college has is determined
by the size of the college.

The motion called for the OUSU and National
Union of Students to join the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign, known
as the BDS movement, against the Jewish state.

We [the OUSU and the NUS]
have a moral responsibility to fight injustice,” and demands that Israel “end
its occupation of all Arab lands,” read the motion which was proposed by Emily
Cousens, a student at Wadham College.

It was originally seconded by
Wolfson College student Yulin Zhang, however he pulled out “after reflecting on
the issue and not being comfortable with it.” Cousens, a former student at a
prestigious private high school in Hampstead, northwest London, and now a member
of Oxford Left campaign group, declined to comment on the result of the
vote.

The motion also called on the union to “conduct research into
higher education institutions’ contacts, relations, investment and commercial
relationships that may be implicated in violating Palestinian human rights as
stated by the BDS movement.”

The decision was hailed by the Union of
Jewish Students who called on students to constructively engage with Israel, its
ideas and people, rather than choose to boycott.

“It’s encouraging to see
that this vote reflects a student body who are willing to discuss the
complexities that exist within Israel and do not see boycotting it as a viable
option or avenue to discuss the conflict,” UJS campaigns director Judith Flacks
said.

Eylon Aslan-Levy, whom MP George Galloway refused to debate last
week on account of him being Israeli, said: “Tonight Oxford students showed that
their commitment to intellectual freedom is unshakeable. In rejecting calls for
a boycott against Israel, we demonstrated resoundingly that we want Oxford to
continue to cooperate with Israeli academics, trade with Israeli businesses and
– yes – debate with Israeli debating societies.

“I hope that other
British universities will follow Oxford’s lead in standing up against divisive
attempts to hinder academic cooperation and progress,” he
added.

“Oxford’s students have made it absolutely clear that applying
double standards to Israel is wholly unacceptable,” Henry Watson from Magdalen
College said. “Oxford’s Student Union emphatically refused to endorse a boycott
of the only liberal democracy in the Middle East: it decisively repudiated the
BDS movement and its anti-Semitic cheerleaders, by a margin of seven to
one.

“There have been strong emotions on either side of this issue,”
David J. Townsend, OUSU president said. “A fulsome debate was had, there was
ample opportunity for Colleges’ student bodies to decide how to mandate their
delegates, and a decisive resolution was achieved by the vote of those delegates
today.”

He added: “Despite disagreements, there was in fact some common
ground between proponents and opponents of the motion. I hope to see the
different opinions come together in a spirit of goodwill to move away from
boycotts, which break down relationships between the UK and Israel, and towards
coalition-building activities, which build up relationships between progressive
Britons, Israelis, Palestinians and others to find a solution to the problem
which complies with law, justice and shared human rights. At the end of the day,
that’s the result that all good people want to see.”

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